Cookbook of the month: A passion for protein by Henry Harris

'These are the recipes that I lost three stone of weight eating,' says Henry Harris, head chef and co-owner of Racine. They are not the usual bland recipes that characterise the average diet book. In A Passion for Protein (published 1 May) all the dishes are low on carbohydrates but huge on flavour. Each recipe is honed by Harris who, through his restaurant, has brought a little bit of classical France to south west London. Racine is celebrated by critics including the Evening Standard's Fay Maschler, who named it her favourite restaurant.

There are chefs who are stick-thin, eat like birds, and exercise like athletes, others whose round bellies are a testament to their irresistible food. Harris was fond of eating, and was often tempted by his restaurant's frîtes. 'I was forever snacking on them. Now I occasionally pick one up, look at it, and put it down again.' That is, since his wife started on the Atkins diet and spurred Harris on to drop carbs. 'My wife lost a lot of weight, looked fantastic, was happier, more confident. I've tried almost every diet but, because of what I do, I was doomed to failure. I'm not on Atkins but I was happy to give up bread, potatoes, any carbohydrate and sugar.'

Harris read Atkins' book from cover to cover. 'I didn't think much of his recipes, which replaced wheat flour with soya flour and suggested artificial sugar to replace the real thing. I took issue with that,' he says, 'because I believe in cooking real food and do it properly without messing around.'

Harris saw that there was a gap in the market and gathered together all the recipes he had been preparing for himself and his wife while losing weight. 'You can have a dinner party for eight people from the book, and no one will know they are eating recipes that are designed for weight loss. I don't pretend to be a dietician. I love food and, using these recipes, I've made a lifestyle change where I've lost a lot of weight and I've managed to keep it off for the first time in my life.'

Baked crab with tomato and tarragon hollandaise

This is really very, very rich... very, very decadent... Do I really care? No, not when it tastes quite this good.

serves 4

125g spinach leaves, stalks removed

1/4 garlic clove, crushed

1 tbs crème fraîche

knob of butter

300g white crab meat (or 4 dressed crabs. If you want to bake crab in shell, use brown meat in sauce)

Tabasco sauce

3 tbs finely chopped chives

for the tomato and tarragon hollandaise

2 tomatoes

200g unsalted butter

2 egg yolks

juice of half a lemon

small packet of tarragon leaves, picked for fish

Rinse the spinach several times to remove any traces of grit. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and blanch the spinach for 30 seconds. Drain in a colander and return to the pan together with the garlic and crème fraîche. Cook for two minutes, then put it in a food processor and blitz it to a purée. Transfer to a small pan and set aside.

Prepare the tomatoes for the sauce by blanching them in boiling water for 20 seconds. Refresh them in cold water and then remove the skins. Quarter the tomatoes, remove the seeds and then cut into small dice. Set aside on a piece of kitchen towel to absorb any excess moisture.

To make the hollandaise, melt 200g butter in a saucepan until hot. Place the egg yolk and the lemon juice in a metal bowl that you have set over a pan of simmering water (not touching it). Whisk until the mixture thickens and goes pale. Turn off the heat. If at any point the sauce starts to go grainy and curdle, then add a tiny splash of boiling water from the kettle. Whisk in the hot butter as you would for mayonnaise, that is to say in a very slow and steady stream. Keep the kettle to hand should the sauce start to split.

When all the butter has been incorporated, remove the bowl from above the hot water and season with salt and pepper. Chop the tarragon and stir it in, together with the chopped tomato.

Then preheat the grill. Melt a knob of butter in a pan and add the crab. Stir for 3-5 minutes, or until piping hot. Season with Tabasco and sea salt, and add one third of the chives.

Divide the spinach purée between 4 small shallow dishes or crab shells and then pile in the crab. Whisk a little more hot water in to the hollandaise then pour it over the meat. Put under the grill, for just long enough to colour the hollandaise slightly, which should be about 30-60 seconds).

With a suitably thick cloth or oven glove, transfer each dish or shell to a plate that you have lined with a napkin. Scatter over the remaining chives and serve.

Wilted greens and prosciutto

Apart from the greens, all of these ingredients are traditional accompaniments to asparagus so, if you want to 'posh' it up a bit, just use asparagus as we have done here. However, the dish is just as nice without it.

serves 2 as a main course

4 slices of prosciutto (parma ham)

bag of mixed salad containing a good proportion of rocket and watercress (100-150g)

bunch of slender asparagus (optional)

good glug of basic vinaigrette

chunk of parmesan cheese

2 shallots, finely chopped

Cut each piece of ham in half and lay out 4 pieces of ham on two plates. If using asparagus, cook it in lightly salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes, rinse in cold water to stop the cooking, drain and then pat dry.

Put the vinaigrette into a wide saucepan together with the shallot and asparagus, and place it on a medium heat. Stir it around until the vinaigrette starts to splutter. Without hesitation, throw in the salad and, using a pair of kitchen tongs, move the greens about to bathe them in the dressing. The leaves will start to wilt.

Immediately remove from the heat and, using the tongs, put a little pile of the leaves on each piece of ham. Roll up the ham slices like little cannelloni and spoon over some of the vinaigrette.

Finally, using a vegetable peeler, shave over a generous amount of parmesan.

Fillets of red mullet with wild mushrooms

Wild mushrooms aren't always that easy to get hold of outside a good farmers' market. When you do manage to get some , spread them out on a tray and freeze them. When solid, transfer them to a freezer bag and store in the freezer until you need them.

serves 4

good olive oil, for frying and brushing

3 tbs good red wine vinegar

200g wild mushrooms

150ml dry white wine

2 shallots, sliced

3 tbs chopped parsley

1/2 a garlic clove, chopped

4 large fillets of red mullet

1 tomato, skinned, deseeded and diced

Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a frying pan and fry the mushrooms for about 4-5 mins, or until they have coloured lightly. Season them well with salt and pepper, then add the shallots, followed by the garlic and tomato. Pour in the vinegar and cook until it has all evaporated. Add the wine, bring to the boil and simmer gently for five minutes. Remove from the heat, adjust the seasoning and stir in the parsley.

While the mushrooms are cooking, preheat the grill. Place the fish fillets on the grill tray, skin side uppermost. Brush them with some olive oil, sprinkle with a little sea salt and grill for about five minutes without turning. The skin will crisp and blister beautifully.

To serve, arrange the red mullet fillets on four warmed plates and spoon the mushrooms over or alongside them.

Potted shrimps

Make these the day before you need them, as I have found that, without a little rest, the spicing can prove to be a little harsh. The powerful combination of cayenne and black pepper with Tabasco does make a great difference. The shrimps can be ordered from a good fishmonger.

serves 4

250g unsalted butter

Tabasco sauce

1/2 tsp freshly ground mace

leaves from little gem lettuce hearts, to serve

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

lemon wedges, to serve

500g brown shrimps, peeled

In a wide shallow pan, melt the butter and then add the mace and cayenne pepper. Cook the spices gently for two minutes, but take great care not to allow the butter to colour.

Add the shrimps and cook for a further five minutes or so: the shrimps are already cooked, so it is important that you just heat them through properly. Finally, add a seasoning of Tabasco sauce, a little sea salt and some black pepper.

With a slotted spoon, lift out the shrimps and pack them into four little pots or ramekins. Reheat the remaining butter, skim off any bits and then pour the butter over each pot of shrimps to seal them. Transfer to the fridge, but remember to take them out of the fridge 40 minutes before you want to serve them.

Serve with little gem heart leaves and lemon wedges.

Vodka and lemon tonic jelly

Yes, I know that the tonic has sugar in it (you can, of course, use diet), but with this quantity divided among eight it isn't that much per person. This is really more of a token pick-me-up to finish the meal than an actual pud. Beware though, it does pack a bit of a punch.

serves 8

7 gelatine leaves

400ml premium vodka

400ml tonic water

juice of 2 lemons

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water until they soften. Lift them from the water and melt them in a small pan over the gentlest of heats. Do not boil or it will spoil. Stir in 100ml of vodka and stir until it is all well-mixed. Pour the remaining vodka, tonic water and lemon juice into a bowl and stir in the gelatine mixture.

Divide it into eight small glasses and transfer to the fridge. Leave to set, preferably overnight. Serve with a spoon and, if you don't mind about more sugar, whip up some double cream sweetened with sugar and place a dollop on top - or, of course, a small ball of vanilla ice cream.

· To order A Passion for Protein by Henry Harris (published by Quadrille, rrp £14.99) for £12.99 plus p&p, call The Observer's book service on 0870 066 7989. Racine, Brompton Road, London, SW3 (020 7584 4477)